SINGAPORE – Between 2022 and 2023, a male teen met two girls, aged 13 and 14, and sexually penetrated them on different occasions.
The teen, now 19, was convicted on Feb 23 of two charges of penetrating an underage person and one charge of criminal trespass.
He cannot be named as he was under 18 when he committed some of the offences.
Court documents stated that the youth was with the 13-year-old girl at a staircase landing of a block in Woodlands on April 14, 2022.
They started talking about sex and agreed to have sexual intercourse. The girl later performed a sex act on him, and he had sex with her without a condom.
A member of the public heard the pair and called the police. However, he re-offended while he was being investigated.
The youth met the second victim in February 2023 via Leo Match chatbot on Telegram, which matches users and allows them to chat with each other.
After chatting for about a week, he asked her to be his girlfriend.
On Feb 22, 2023, he met the girl and her best friend at the latter’s house.
When they were left alone, he asked the girl to perform a sex act on him, and she agreed.
He used her phone to record a video of her in the act, which she later sent to him at his request.
A few days later, the youth met the girl after she ended school and asked to have sex. She agreed, and they had sex at a staircase in the girl’s school.
In April 2023, they had sex again at a staircase in a carpark.
The girl made a police report on May 20, 2023. Court documents did not state why she did so.
On July 13, 2023, the youth entered a 14-year-old boy’s school through a side gate as he wanted to confront the other boy about a video.
The youth found the boy in his classroom and asked him to go to the toilet.
There, the accused took out a tension rod from his backpack, which he hid behind his back. He then confronted the younger teen about the video and told him to apologise while he recorded it on his phone, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai.
He then slapped the boy on the left cheek and tried to leave the school through the side gate, but was stopped by security officers.
He eventually left by climbing over the fence with the help of a friend from the school.
DPP Ng sought a reformative training suitability report for the youth, noting the seriousness of his offences.
He added that the youth had displayed signs of recalcitrance as he went on to have sexual relations with the second victim despite being under investigation for the same offence.
“The accused made a conscious decision to ignore his better judgement and to give in to his sexual urges. The accused displays a flagrant disregard for the law and the potential consequences of re-offending while on bail,” said DPP Ng.
The youth’s lawyer, Mr Ashwin Ganapathy from the Public Defender’s Office, asked for a probation suitability report to be called as well.
Mr Ganapathy said the youth had not re-offended since 2023, and is doing his national service.
In response, DPP Ng said that while it is heartening that the youth has since turned over a new leaf, it does not negate his actions, for which he has to bear the consequences.
District Judge Carol Ling agreed to call for both reports, but said probation might not be a viable sentencing option for the youth.
The youth was ordered to be remanded for a week. He will be sentenced on April 22.
For sex with a person under 14 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to 20 years, and may also be fined or caned.
For sex with a person under 16 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined, or both.
An offender found guilty of criminal trespass can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to $1,500, or both.